New Jersey native Olivia Baptista is a rising quadruple threat talent who is partner in Multihyphenate Productions: a woman owned production dedicated to increasing the presence of women in film, POC filmmaking, and the “multihyphenate” artistry in film. As an actor/producer, she is lucky and proud to say all of her films have been to festivals, and that a few have even found successful distribution deals. Most recently she won Best Actress in a Feature Film at the Endless Mountain Film Festival and was nominated for the same at the CHAIN FF in NYC for her feature film debut SYCAMORE. And her short film WAKING UP (writer / producer / star) was just accepted to the 15th annual Garden State Film Festival – making its premiere this March. She loves all things “genre” (Orphan Black, Firefly, Black Mirror…) and strives to be a part of off-beat stories with compelling characters that keep viewers coming back. As a producer, she is determined to bring high concept ideas to life on low budgets – with the hopes of wide exposure so that markets thirsty for high-quality content can get it.

Olivia currently lives in Los Angeles.

Check out Olivia in the web series Here We Wait (herewewait.com), the short film Waking Up (Garden State Film Fest) and her award winning feature – Sycamore (Amazon).

Episode 18 Rosalind Winton, Editor for Stage 32

As well as being the official Editor for Stage 32, Rosalind has her own literary editing business. She has edited everything from full length novels, novellas, children’s YA and picture books, non-fiction, articles, blogs and websites. Rosalind edits screenplays and television scripts for members of Stage 32 and she adapts manuscripts into a screenplays for her clients. She has edited work by authors from all over the world and is currently privileged to have been hired by the Canadian TV host and actress Stephanie Herrera to edit her books. Rosalind also writes lyrics and songs and she’s enjoyed some lovely achievements over the years including hearing her songs performed on stage and winning awards.

Episode 17 of the International Women in Film Podcast stars, Reneé O’Connor, a successful actress and filmmaker, best known for her role on Xena: Warrior Princess, brings her unparalleled passion to each and every project.

Reneé made a name for herself when she resided in Auckland, New Zealand, playing the role of Gabrielle, Xena’s trusted sidekick on the popular series from 1996-2001. The scene stealing role created a huge worldwide fan base, one still active in countless websites dedicated to the actress and this signature series.

She then moved on to launch her own film production company – ROC Productions. Her first independent production under the company is the romantic comedy, Diamonds and Guns which was released on DVD in January 2008. She also starred in several independent films, including Boogeyman 2 opposite Tobin Bell; The Sci Fi Channel’s Monster Ark opposite Tim DeKay and Alien Apocalypse, opposite Bruce Campbell, one of the highest-rated original movies in the cable network’s history. She starred in the action webisode series ARK from Judah/Sacks (executive producers of 90210 and Diary of a Wimpy Kid) and the anticipated Faith Based feature film, Beyond The Farthest Star, due for release in 2016, from Pathlight Entertainment.

Prior to her breakout role, Reneé lived in Texas and began her professional film career at the age of 17, starring in the serial Teen Angel, a regular feature on the Disney Channel’s The Mickey Mouse Club. Other credits include the Disney film, The Adventures of Huck Finn with Elijah Wood, and television movies such as Follow the River with Ellen Burstyn, Danielle Steele’s Changes with Cheryl Ladd, and James Garner’s second Rockford Files reunion movie.

Reneé’s talent extends well beyond the big screen or the small screen. Also an acclaimed stuntwoman, Reneé is proficient in several forms of martial arts and the use of martial arts weapons, which includes, the Nunchaku, Bo-Staff, and the Sai. She is a certified teacher of Emotional Awareness for the gifted community by the Rocamora School, and Renee has been an annual nominee for the Women Making A Difference award by the Los Angeles Business Journal since 2010. Renee is involved as co-director for some Los Angeles Film Festivals and teaches the Youth Intensive film lab, an educational laboratory for showcasing local talents.

Currently, Renee writes, directs, and produces award winning short films, bridging social awareness with the entertainment industry, and she is in post production on the feature film, Watch The Sky, a Science Fiction Family film, due for release in 2017.

Episode 16 of the International Women in Film podcast stars Dawn Higginbotham, Writer, Director and Producer

Dawn Higginbotham, Morning Person Pictures, is an award winning Writer/Director/Producer who has also worked on Titanic and Star Wars I,II, and III shares her stories and her films from yesterday and today and tomorrow!

Dawn is a member of the Producers Guild of America, SAG/AFTRA,

#WeAreWITI and The New Hollywood. She is an Award Winning Writer / Director

/ Producer. Her directorial debut,“The Usual,”was an Official Selection at Festival de Cannes American Pavilion Emerging Filmmakers and screened at Shorts Corner at the Cannes Market, as well as many others (with Producers Sharen Davis, Renee O’Connor and Kumari Bakhru). Currently she is in

development on the feature films “Passing Through”(for Cordova Pictures with

(with Sharen Davis, Bill Killgore and Richard Lu), and is in the midst of packaging “Fatherhood,” working with the same team, she is producing the project, and is set to direct. Originally from Memphis, TN, Dawn moved to New York to study music, theater and film at AMDA. She got her career start as a musical theater performer in

several Off-Broadway shows and a National Tour. She soon shifted her sights to film where she worked in production on numerous feature films including “Die Hard W/ A Vengeance” (John McTiernan), Jim Cameron’s “Titanic”, “The Thin Red Line” (Terrence Malick), and “Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas” (Terry Gilliam).

Dawn’s background also includes VFX on the films “Godzilla”and “Armageddon,”and post production, as a manager for Dolby Laboratories (working with various filmmakers and studios), and as a post production supervisor for Lucasfilm/THX, she worked along side various labs in L.A., Canada, UK, Italy and Australia overseeing film print quality on “Star Wars:Episode I, II, and III” (George Lucas), she also worked on a variety of other

including; “Diamonds & Guns”, Off The Ledge”, “Night of the Templar”, ‘You are a Star”, “Outside My Window”, Randy Crowder’s “Infinity”, “Words Unspoken” …and is in development on the upcoming “Road to Nowhere”, “Single Not Desperate” etc. (with writer/creator Julian Moses and Midnitemove Productions).

She also went on to direct “Last Chance” (starring & executive produced with Renee O’Connor, and executive produced by Sharen Davis) and “The Hub” (starring Brandon Gibson, Paul McKinney, Derrex Brady, Raymond O’

Author of the bestseller, ‘Love Is Never Past Tense’ which is adapted to a screenplay (J. Walter Cohen).

‘Love Is Never Past Tense’ is a beautifully written historical romance, based on the true story of Janna Yeshanova, who escaped to the USA with her mother and young child, a few hundred dollars and the clothes on their backs, along with thousands of others fleeing from the life threatening and oppressive Soviet regime in the 1980s.

Janna self published the book, which follows the story of an estranged couple whose lives are shaken by the country’s collapse, the question is, can they reconnect in the future?

Episode 14 Jenn Page

Jenn Page has directed and produced multiple feature films, branded series, music videos, live stage shows, and a TV talk show.

Determined and passionate, Jenn has a reputation for taking on tough projects and leading them to excel against the odds. Although she’s directed in almost every genre, she’s most drawn to romantic dramedy and musical projects.

The Intruderis Carly’s latest short which is currently
looking for investment and is in the middle of a crowd funding campaign.
The Intruder starts with a routine trip to the shop turning into a hellish
nightmare for Joanna, as she is forced to battle the demons occupying the
darkest recesses of her mind.

The Intruderis a visual tale depicting the
harrowing effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Our goal is
to shine a light on this serious issue that many people
go through and are still scared to talk about. This is an issue
present around us on a daily basis, living in the darkness. We believe
that more awareness should be made around PTSD and help those afflicted to
speak about their experiences.

The film specifically explores the thought of being trapped
inside your own mind…. and the consequences when that is a reality. PTSD
sufferers in the media are generally depicted as male former servicemen. The
reason for this is because finally, a dialogue about PTSD affecting soldiers
due to the horrors they are forced to endure as part of their service, has been
gaining voices. Whilst this is very true and what most people are rightly
trying to bring awareness too, we want to shift our focus ever so slightly to
highlight the effects of PTSD on the everyday men, women and children who are
also affected, as well as our service man and women. They could be
doctors, soldiers, police officers, teachers, parents.

Every day ordinary people doing every day and ordinary things. This
short will snapshot the ongoing cycle of PTSD for ALL of those people and out
lead character is a woman.

Carly’s previous short wasFragile
Storm, which has won a total of 10 awards during its festival run,
including best script and starred Lance Henricksen. I wrote the original
script and co-wrote the final draft with Dawn Fields.

Michele Hall is an Emmy Winning natural
history and underwater film producer specializing in marine wildlife and marine
conservation films for TV and IMAX since 1991. She is a member of the
Television Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

After nearly 2 decades as a pediatric nurse,
Michele entered the field of documentary filmmaking in 1991, specializing in
marine still photography and marine wildlife films.
While her underwater still photos have been published internationally, the
focus of her work has been working as a team with her husband, Howard,
producing marine wildlife documentary films for television and theatrical
release. She has produced or co-produced many television films including
a National Geographic Special, two episodes of the PBS series Nature (one of
which featured her and her team on-camera) and the five-hour PBS series Secrets
of the Ocean Realm. These television films garnered seven Emmy Awards,
and numerous other wildlife film festival awards.
The Halls are perhaps best known for their underwater IMAXÒ films. In 1994 Michele was Location Manager on the
first-ever underwater IMAX 3D feature, Into the Deep (which Howard directed),
and in 1998 she produced the IMAX film Island of the Sharks (also directed by Howard).
In 2005 Michele returned to the IMAX 3D format for the Warner Bros. / IMAX
feature Deep Sea 3D. The award-winning sequel Under the Sea 3D followed
in 2009.
Howard and Michele have participated in other underwater IMAX productions in
various capacities, including MacGillivray Freeman Films’ IMAX film Coral Reef
Adventure, released in 2003. More recently she has lent her expertise as
a Producer to several IMAX features as Location Manager, including MacGillivray
Freeman Films Journey to the South Pacific and Humpback Whales, and National
Geographic’s Ocean Giants.
Michele has strived to make family-friendly films that raise awareness of and
increase appreciation for the marine environment. During the past 25
years, the films she has produced have been seen by thousands of children and
adults. She has received positive feedback in letters, emails and in
person from many who have said that not only have her films increased their
knowledge of the marine environment, but they have also been the inspiration to
turn their career choices toward marine sciences and / or environmental issues.
In 2003 Michele and Howard were named Divers of the Year by the Boston Sea
Rovers, and in 2011 they received the same accolade at Beneath the Sea.
That same year they were also inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall
of Fame. In 2004 Michele and Howard were recognized by PADI with the PADI
Environmental Award. In 2013 they received the International Wildlife
Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Marine Conservation &
Media. In 2015 they were recognized by the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film
Festival with the Outstanding Achievement Award for Natural History Filmmaking.
Michele is a member of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Women
Divers Hall of Fame, and is a recipient of the Academy of Underwater Arts and
Sciences NOGI Award.

Dictynna Hood, DR Hood, from London, directed
and wrote the feature ‘Wreckers’ with Claire Foy and Benedict Cumberbatch,
which came out in 2012 and its international premieres were at Palm Springs and
Moscow Film Festivals.
Dictynna’s first feature film WRECKERS starred Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire
Foy, and Shaun Evans. WRECKERS premiered at the London International Film
Festival 2011 where it was nominated for best debut feature; its international
premieres were at Palm Springs IFF 2012 and Moscow IFF 2012 where it won a
Silver George. WRECKERS is released in the UK by leading arthouse distributor
Artificial Eye, who named it as ‘debut which changed the face of British
cinema’, and is distributed worldwide through Content Media Corp. Prior to her
first feature WRECKERS, Dictynna wrote and directed multi-award winning short
films THE OTHER MAN with BAFTA winner Anna Maxwell Martin (Edinburgh IFF winner
2006), and JOURNEY MAN, with Ruth Madoc. JOURNEY MAN was a global festival hit
and had eight months’ theatrical exhibition in the UK.
Dictynna has had work commissioned by Granada and Channel 4, and wrote the
screenplay for Tim Krabbe’s cult novel DELAY. Dictynna has also directed for
theatre and audio, including audio versions of Aristophanes’ THE CLOUDS with Andrew
Sachs and extracts from Homer’s ILIAD with David Warner.
Dictynna also teaches and is the inventor of the Pudovkin game for students.
D R Hood
Director/producer
+44 7985 458407

Monique Impagliazzo, writer, producer director with 10 years
experience as Associate Producer is now working on her own short, Turkey’s Done
starring Cheri Oteri!

Monique was born and raised in South Philadelphia, PA. She graduated
from Temple University with a BA in Film and Media
Arts. Fresh out of college, she went on to intern at the Mary Anne Claro Talent
Agency, where she soon became Mary Anne’s right
hand. Monique then booked a spot representing Toyota on the International Auto
Show Circuit as a Lead Product Presenter and
specialist. From that, Monique booked a guest host spot on QVC representing the
Weatherproof brand. Mary Anne Claro then referred
Monique to Producer, Diane Kirman and Executive Producer James Brolin. Kirman
and Brolin were in the midst of producing the
children’s feature film musical, Standing Ovation and brought Monique onto the
production as an Associate Producer.
After the film wrapped, Brolin told Monique that his wife, Barbra Streisand,
was looking for an Executive Assistant at her film
company, Barwood Films. Since being hired, Monique has assisted Ms. Streisand
during the filming of The Guilt Trip (Paramount
Pictures), and the production of Streisand’s CDs, What Matter’s Most, Release
Me and Partners. Monique was Ms. Streisand’s Executive
Assistant on her 2012 US and Canadian Tour: Back to Brooklyn and The 2013
European Tour.
Monique caught the eye of Producer Wendy Cox of History Making Productions.
Wendy hired Monique as a Production Manager for the
Documentary Series, Philadelphia: The Great Experiment. Soon after, she was
hired as the Production Coordinator on Cheri Oteri’s
Pilot Presentation, The HOA. Presently Monique is preparing to direct and
produce Turkey’s Done,
a comedic short film that she wrote along with Jennifer and Krystal
Tini.

Christie Brooks, from Hawaii, an
actress and singer who worked alongside Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt in the Bethany
Hamilton’s story movie, Soul Surfer.

American film and TV actress
Christie Brooke was plucked from the island of Oahu, Hawaii for her talents in
acting, music, and dance to be cast on ABC’s primetime hit show High School
Musical: Get in the Picture, sharing the screen with Zac Efron, Nick Lachey,
and Kenny Ortega.
Christie landed her first speaking role in Sony Pictures Soul Surfer, opposite
AnnaSophia Robb,
Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, and Carrie Underwood making her feature film
debut. She co‐stars
as Melinda on CBS’ Hawaii 5‐0 with Alex O’Laughlin and Scott
Caan and plays the role of
Sprinkle in the Rich Mullins biopic Ragamuffin available on Netflix. She
is also a writer and
producer of a SAG‐AFTRA sketch comedy show called Gurls Aren’t Funny.
Recently, Christie has
originated the role of Melrose in the brand new 80’s pop rock musical
“Invisible”. More theatre
credits include: Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street, Srg. Sarah Brown in Guys &
Dolls, Daisy Mae
Scragg in Lil’ Abner, Jodi, Annie, and Lily in Quilters the Musical and
more. She is a proud alumni to the Castle Performing Arts Center in
Kaneohe, Hawaii acclaimed as one of the top ten performing arts programs
nationwide. She has studied at The Academy of Film and Television in
Honolulu, and is glad to have completed training at the Upright Citizens
Brigade this year at UCB Sunset in Los Angeles. Christie can be found
singing jazz standards in the post‐modern
band Showmance and she is excited to announce the release of her original EP
#FirstLove now available on iTunes. Christie enjoys writing for
DisFunkshion Magazine sold nationally at Barnes
& Noble. She is truly grateful for the support of her friends and
family. “Shine bright!”

Dawn Leigh Climie is a Costume
Set Supervisor with over 24 years of experience. After graduating from the
NAIT Apparel Design program, Dawn began her career in local theater and
independent films.

In 1992 Dawn received a
scholarship to the Banff School of Fine Arts. There she learned the
history of costuming and enhanced her skills as a seamstress with a
concentration in 1800’s era ladies dress. For the next few years, Dawn
applied her passion and honed her skills on period films
while working in Alberta. In 1996, a chance to work on the feature film
THE THIRTEENTH WARRIOR allowed Dawn to relocate to Vancouver.
While in Vancouver, Dawn has built a resume of over 100 film and TV projects
including
the film TRON LEGACY, the TV movie ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, with costumes by
Chris Hargedon and Bob Mackie, the homegrown feature FORSAKEN, produced by and
starring Kiefer Sutherland, and the award winning TV series ONCE UPON A TIME
with
Emmy nominated Designer Eduardo Castro.

The honor of working with Emmy,
BAFTA, Costume Designers Guild, and Academy
Award winning Costume Designers Ellen Mirojnick, Michael Kaplan, Shay Cunliffe and
Mark Bridges on the films THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, MIAMI VICE, MISSION
IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL, THE BOURNE LEGACY and 50 SHADES OF
GREY, has allowed Dawn to work in locations as diverse as the Dominican
Republic,
the Eastern US Seaboard, Prague, the Philippines, Dubai, Paraguay, the ice
glaciers of
Kananaskis, Alberta, and of course, beautiful Vancouver! Dreams do come true.:)
In 2013 Dawn started the blog, DON’T SHOOT THE COSTUMER in hopes of sharing
her love of costuming and some of the tricks of the trade she has picked up
over her
career. It’s a way for Dawn to put into action one of her firmest beliefs…
empowering
education, sharing and passion in our industry creates excellence in our
community

For 25 years, we have specialized in
the creative manufacturing of unique costumes, props, masks and sculpture. We
solve creative problems with intelligent, custom-made solutions for top-line
companies, performers, events and museums worldwide.

Clients include Lady Gaga, The BBC,
Delta Airlines and The city of Sydney, Australia.

Diverse clients also include:
Harrods, as well as museums, theatres, opera and ballet companies, professional
performers and amateur party beasts worldwide! Our work has also featured
in TV adverts for Sony, Lipton’s Iced Tea, Motorola and Peugeot.

When you need something custom-made,
ask us for a free quote and advice.

I’ve been working professionally
with Mike Petty (sculptor), for many years now – we started the company
Tentacle Studio 25 years ago. We make animal masks, sculpture, costumes, rubber
clothing, wings and all sorts of glorious weirdness!

We started off making only
custom-made stuff for theatres. But over the years we’ve evolved many times-
producing a range of colorful rubber clothing that sold in shops worldwide, and
just recently opening shops on Etsy and Amazon with ranges of our own unique
designs- the most popular are our animal masks. We still do a lot of custom
work on commission – often for TV adverts and music videos.

I trained as a classical tailor –
men’s suits, women’s corset, very traditional. But I have always preferred
hi-tech materials in fresh, exciting colors; creating new textures that
transform the wearer. It took me a while to un-learn some of the rigid rules
inherent in such a strict discipline as traditional tailoring! But finding our
own methods, and working with unexpected materials has been essential to being
happy in what we do, it’s kept us flexible, and enabled us to come up with
fresh ideas.

Although both born and bred in
England, we’re now based in The Netherlands, and our studio is nestled just
outside Amsterdam in the heart of the tulip growing area. You’ll find us there
most days, buzzing around, making and designing new items for our online shop
and taking photos.

The relaxed atmosphere in Holland is
great – although we don’t actually do much relaxing – we’re usually to be found
in a frenzy of creative stress, building various custom orders to tight
deadlines! We love it that people have fun, and get transformed by our
creations.

Pilar Alessandra is the director of the writing program On the Page®, host of the popular On the Page Podcast and author of “The Coffee Break Screenwriter.” Pilar started her career as Senior Story Analyst at Dream Works SKG and, in 2001, opened the On the Page Writers’ Studio in Los Angeles. Her students and clients have written for The Walking Dead, Lost,House of Lies, Nip Tuck and FamilyGuy. They’ve sold features and pitches to Warner Bros, Dream Works, Disney and Sony and have won the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship, Austin Screenwriting Competition and Warner Bros. TV Writing Workshop. Pilar has trained writers at ABC/Disney and CBS and traveled the world teaching in London,Beijing, Warsaw and Ho-Chi-Minh City. In October she’ll be teaching in Lisbon, Portugal and Capetown, South Africa. You can find out about her classes and consultations by going to the website: onthepage.tv

Suze Lanier-Bramlett is an actress,singer-songwriter, cabaret performer, writer, director and producer. She is best known for starring in the horror film classic, Wes Craven’s “The Hills Have Eyes”, as well as, her role as Bambi, John Travolta’s girlfriend in the TV sitcom, “Welcome Back, Kotter”.

Suze Lanier-Bramlett has starred inmany TV episodics, both comedy and drama over the years, and in countless professional stage productions both in New York and LA. She has recently completed a new body of acting roles in the new film releases, “CUT!”, Oren Peli’s, “Area 51”, “No Solicitors” with Eric Roberts, and the still to be released “Betrothed” with Omar Gooding.

Ashley Maria is the director,producer and co-writer for the feature documentary Pioneers in Skirts™.

With over 10 years of experience in film and television production, Ashley Maria is a writer and director, as well as a freelance production sound mixer based in Los Angeles, California.

She is an award winning director;winning awards at highly acclaimed film festivals around the world. Ashley Maria was awarded the prestigious Directors Guild of America award for her film, Friday Night Fright™ in 2010.

Episode 3 Rebecca ForstadtRebecca Forstadt has been a voice actor in the Los Angeles
area for over 35 years and is a long time member of SAG – AFTRA. Let’s learn
about her career!
She has an extensive resume in film, television, commercials, animation, video
games, audio books, ADR.

Rebecca is best known in the anime genre specializing in kid’s voices and has
voiced hundreds of projects including Robotech, Tenchi Muyo, Ghost in the
Shell, Code Geass and Metropolis. Rebecca studied theater at Orange Coast
College, the Lee Strasberg Institute and the Ossetynski Actor’s Lab.

She received 2 Drama- Logue Awards for outstanding performance as an actress in
Ionesco’s Tales with Eugene Ionesco in residence and Leonce and Lena at Stages
Trilingual Theatre in Hollywood.

She has also appeared on camera in starring roles in the films Mugsy’s Girls
with Ruth Gordon and Laura Branigan, and Round Numbers with Kate Mulgrew and
Samantha Egger and on television.

Kimberly, a NYC film making student
and photographer elaborates on her Three Main Series which is the foundation of
her upcoming film work.

Kimberly Fox is a gifted art
photographer and filmmaker currently located in Brooklyn, NYC where she currently
attends the Fashion Institute of Technology studying Film and Media. She uses
her work as a means of communicating what she finds words often cannot.

This podcast episode will be the
first of a series with Kimberly, starting our journey understanding her still
photo collection, The Three Main Series. These stills are the core of
her upcoming short film project. Our next podcast episode with her next
year will follow her project road map.

Jessica Sitomer, a film industry
career coach talks about her work and shares tips on how everyone can generate
more work, better work or different work.

Jessica Sitomer, the Greenlight
Coach, is a long-time expert in the entertainment industry, having worked in
all areas, from producing, writing and acting to directing and development.
Simultaneously, she’s been a career coach for entertainment industry
professionals. Within that period she served for seven years as the in-house
career coach for the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600. Now she’s
The Greenlight Coach, Inc.

Sitomer also shares her knowledge
and experience as a keynote, college, and seminar speaker who teaches both
professional and novice how to generate more work, better work, or different
work in the entertainment field.

Her book, “And…Action! Powerful,
Proven, and Proactive Strategies to Achieve Success in the Entertainment
Industry” is available on Amazon.